Dear Reader,
That time has come – volume three as a magazine of The Gavel is now out. If you’ve missed
any of the other issues, please check them out
online. Both issues are available through Issuu
(links can be found on the website –
www.bcgavel.com). If you haven’t already
done so, please take a look at the website for
exclusive online content.
I would like to use this opportunity, our final
printed magazine issue of the year, to thank
the seniors for all of their hard work. I have truly enjoyed getting to know all of you over the
past few years.
To Yanira, for being The Gavel mom and watching out for all of us. Thanks for catching our
mistakes both in print and in the real world.
To Cal, for being so creative and never being
afraid to push the boundaries for new content.
Thanks for making the Features section the
place to be.
To Maggie, for sharing your talents and your
house with us for official Gavel functions.
Thanks for instilling your own passions in your
section and colleagues.
To Sofia, for your artistic sensibilities and photography skills. Thank you for paying attention
to the finer details.
To Kaylin, for totally revolutionizing the way
that The Gavel looks. Thanks for restyling our
layout.

Ravi found guilty
on all counts
The latest development in the case
of Dharun Ravi finds the former Rutgers
University student guilty on 15 charges
and facing a maximum of 10 years in
prison. Ravi is responsible for spying on
and tweeting about his fellow freshman
roommate, Tyler Clementi, and Clementi’s
intimate encounters with an older man.
Clementi committed suicide by jumping
off the George Washington Bridge a few
days later.
Although it has been almost two
years since Clementi’s suicide, Ravi’s trial

“I really don’t think
he cared at all. I feel
like I was an
insignificant 2010
part to his life.”
-Dharun Ravi

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just began on Feb. 15, 2012. His trial, held
in Middlesex County Courthouse in New
Jersey, is the final step to justice in the
long ordeal. The other complicit student,
Molly Wei, accepted a plea deal on May
6, 2011. She was sentenced 300 hours of
community service and in order to avoid
jail time promised to cooperate throughout Ravi’s trial.
Ravi , on the other hand, has denied
several plea bargains. On April 20, 2011,
he was indicted on charges of bias intimidation, invasion of privacy, witness tam-

Three days before
beginning his freshman
year at Rutgers University, Tyler Clementi
comes out to his family.

Clementi jumps off of the
George Washington
Bridge. Ravi texts Clementi a long apology, but
Clementi is already gone.

August 25

September 22

September 21
After being asked to stay out of their room that night,
Clementi’s roommate, Dharun Ravi, goes to a friend’s
room. Ravi and his friend, Molly Wei, watch a few seconds
of Clementi embracing an older man from Ravi’s webcam.
Ravi tweets disparagingly about what they’ve seen.
the GAVEL / April 2012

Check out the Tyler Clementi Foundation at:
www.thetylerclementifoundation.org
pering, and evidence tampering. Despite
these serious charges, Ravi turned down
a plea bargain for a 3-5 year sentence in
October 2011. Ravi also refused a second
bargain in December which would have
cost him only 600 hours of community
service. Ravi is now being faced with a 15
count conviction he did not expect and
a possible 10 years jail sentence.
The most controversial charge
against Ravi is bias intimidation. Bias intimidation loosely translates to New Jersey’s hate crime law and is a tricky statute
to indict. “Under the bias intimidation
statute, Dharun Ravi could have been
convicted if he purposefully caused Tyler
Clementi to feel intimidated because of
his sexual orientation,” Jessica Henry, a
law professor at Montclair State University said in a segment on NPR. The jury
needed to find sufficient insight into
Ravi’s personal biases and specific intent
to find him guilty of the charge.
Ravi does not believe that his actions were a decisive factor in Clementi’s
decision to end his life. “After all this time
and reading his conversations and how
and what he was doing before, I really

don’t think he cared at all. I feel like I was
an insignificant part to his life. That’s giving me comfort now,” he said in a 20/20
interview on March 23.
Clementi’s parents are at peace with
the guilty verdict Ravi faces. “Our family
believes that the jury reached the correct verdict. They reached their decision
based on the facts shown by evidence,”
Clementi’s father said in a written statement. Clementi’s mother added, “We
have learned that LGBT teens, especially,
suffer pain, embarrassment and ridicule
which is made worse by improper use of
electronic media.” The family has set up
a foundation in order to promote acceptance and understanding of interpersonal differences and curb such abuses
of technology.
This case has incited much discussion as people across the country have
been weighing in on the verdict. In the
aftermath of the event, many were quick
to publicly excoriate Ravi. For example,
Andrea Peyser of the NY Post has called
Ravi “a serial gay basher and insufferable
jerk—and, very likely, a closet case” who
must pay for making “Clementi’s short

Ravi is indicted on
charges of bias intimidation, invasion of privacy,
witness tampering, and
evidence tampering.

April 20

2011

Ravi turns down
plea bargain for
3-5 year sentence.

October 30

life into a peep-show spectacle.”
However, there are others who
place the blame elsewhere. Eric Marcus,
board member for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention wrote in a
Star Ledger column, “We’ve turned Tyler
Clementi into a two-dimensional symbol of anti-gay bullying and Dharun Ravi
into a scapegoat… we’ve laid blame for
a tragic act none of us fully understands
on the head of a foolish, immature
young man.”
Dan Savage, an openly gay sex
columnist, was quick to recognize that
there are larger societal factors at play
in Clementi’s suicide. In October 2010,
he said, “We have to recognize that there
were others involved in destroying Tyler
Clementi. And we need to start calling
the efort to in all the blame on Ravi and
Wei exactly what it is: a coverup.”
Although the verdict has caused
much controversy, Clementi’s family can
at least take solace in the fact that their
son’s tragic death has proved powerful
in bringing recognition to critical issues
facing LGBT youth.
Ravi’s sentencing is set for May 21.

Ravi’s trial begins in
New Brunswick, NJ.
He faces up to 10
years in prison and
deportation.

February 21

2012
May 6

December 9

Wei accepts plea deal
requiring 300 hours of
community service and
agrees to cooperate
throughout Ravi’s trial.

Ravi rejects second plea
bargain of only 600 hours
at community service.

www.bcgavel.com

5

Photo courtesy of whitehouse.gov/Kimberley Hewitt

The Career of the Future:
Presidential Impersonation
By Meidema Sanchez / Assoc. News Editor
After we graduate, many of us ambitious Boston College students envision
ourselves working jobs that are lucrative, impressive and even kind of serious.
Why kind of serious, you ask? Well, quite
frankly, this is because the less fun the
job the more lucrative and impressive it
tends to be. You probably already know,
these typical job expectations that are
shared among many Boston College students, and presumably among most college students in general, are all strongly
interlocked: without one of the three,
you have none of the three— at least according to societal standards.
This leaves a very limited selection
of careers available to college students
striving to achieve the “success” that
their steep tuitions pay. They can either
become doctors, lawyers, businessmen/
businesswomen, political figures, world
leaders, developers of the world’s first
“Hunger Games”… you get the point.
However, this may all be changing,
as a little-known profession is becoming
a much more prominent career choice
among Americans throughout the coun-

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try. This hot, up-and-coming career, is
(drumroll please)—the job of a presidential impersonator.
Tim Watters, presidential impersonator extraordinaire, is a flawless example
of how lucrative the career of a presidential impersonator can become. According to the biography included on his
website Watters began his professional
life as a real estate agent in Florida, a career that can be quite profitable depending on the condition of the economy.
However, as Watters continued through
life as real estate agent, he was constantly confronted by people who remarked
how similar he looked to the U.S. president at the time, Bill Clinton.
Watters recalls, “Not a day would go
by when someone wouldn’t come up to
me and ask if I’m Bill Clinton, or tell me
how much I look like the president.”
While Watters initially found these
comments to be amusing, they would
eventually serve as the inspiration that
caused him to pursue a career as a Bill
Clinton impersonator. Currently, he plays
the role of Bill Clinton, or “Mr. President,”

on a full time basis for television, film and
special events. More intriguingly, he has
grossed more than $1 million in a single
year, and has already purchased six boats
and two beach houses.
Before you jump out of your seat
and quit your job to pursue a career as
a presidential impersonator, you need to
cautiously remind yourself of one piece
of reality-bearing wisdom: just as every
politician cannot be Bill Clinton, so too
every presidential impersonator cannot
be Tim Watters.
“There’s A-list talent, and there’s Dlist talent,” explains Janna Joos to Slate
magazine, an agent who currently represents more than 2,000 celebrity impersonators. “You can tell the difference
instantly.”
Ron Butler, an Obama impersonator,
is a vocal advocate for both the impressiveness and seriousness of the presidential impersonator profession.
“I see this as a chance to grow as a
dramatic actor,” says Butler to Slate magazine, who prepares for each Obama
show by affixing fake tufts of hair to his

the GAVEL / April 2012

?

Did you know...
Well- known Obama impersonator, Reggie Brown, was kicked off the stage at a Republican
Leadership Conference for his one-liners that spared no one, Republican or Democrat.
President of the RLC and CEO, Charlie Davis, made the decision to pull him offstage.

“I pulled him off the stage,” Davis acknowledged afterward, “I just thought he had gone too far.”
otherwise bald head. “Besides, it can be
very lucrative.”
In fact, within the world of celebrity impersonation, presidential impersonation is considered to be a highly
specialized and sophisticated field. The
most distinguished presidential impersonators make appearances at conventions, corporate meetings, and the like.
Does anyone recall when presidential
impersonator Steve Bridges accompanied President George W. Bush as he addressed attendees at the annual White
House Correspondents Association dinner in 2006?
Furthermore, within the broad

world of celebrity impersonation, presidential impersonators are considered
to have better talent than other impersonators. This is because impersonating
the president is a really challenging task
when compared to impersonating other
familiar figures—you’d be amazed how
far a Marilyn impersonator can go with
a blonde wig and a push-up bra. Presidents are different mainly because their
voices and manners of speech are universally familiar.
As Ron Butler explained to Slate,
“Everybody knows exactly how Obama
looks and acts. I have to study his complete physicality.”

Photo courtesy of Gage Skidmore

www.bcgavel.com

All in all, while presidential impersonation has perhaps become a commendable career choice for college
students throughout the United States,
it has yet to become an easy one. It
involves a lot of skill, observation and
devotion. It also requires the impersonator to maintain some level of physical
resemblance to the person whom he is
impersonating. However, if you are a person who has been told that you look like
a president, or a presidential candidate,
and are confident in your impersonating
abilities, drop out of school immediately
and call an agent. Maybe doing the latter
first would be best…

7

California
State
University
campuses

freeze
upcoming

Most Populus
Cal State
University
Campuses
1) Fullerton: 36,156

Photo courtesy of Arnold C.

2) Northridge: 32,607

enrollment
By Itzel Ayala
Gavel Media Staff

The 2008 recession has hit students especially hard. Thousands of
students this year will be graduating
and entering the job market during
one of the worst recovering economic
recessions in years. But if graduating
college into a tough economy was
going to be difficult, graduating from
California high schools just got grim.
It’s not news that California’s economy has been suffering over the past
several years. In 2009, California hit its
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years at 12 percent. As a result of a crippling budget deficit, California state
government cut spending in various
important areas, starting with healthcare and education. California schools
were already ranked 47 in the nation,
so cutting school budgets didn’t sit
well with the people.
California has the 8th largest
economy in the world and is the most
densely populated state in the country.
What happens in California does not
stay in California, but instead affects

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

3) Long Beach: 31,802

Photo courtesy of Buchanan-Hewit

the GAVEL / April 2012

California State University is one of
the public state university systems in
California. Cal State has 23 campuses
throughout the state with a total
combined population of 400,000
students and 47,000 faculty and staff.
To the left are the 6 Cal State campuses
with the highest number of currently
enrolled undergraduates.

4) San Diego: 26,796

Photo courtesy of Daderot

5) Sacramento: 24,701

Photo courtesy of Devin Cook

6) Pomona: 22,273

Photo courtesy of Cal Poly Pomona Engineer

www.bcgavel.com

hundreds of thousands of people.
The California State Universities
represent the largest public institutions in California. They are much more
affordable for students and provide
a economical alternative to a private
institution or going out-of-state. After the economic melt down in 2008,
thousands of students flooded the Cal
State Universities hoping to attain a
college degree without digging themselves into a giant debt hole that they
would almost triple in payments of interest.
Already Cal State Universities have
enrolled more students than they can
handle. Classes are full and even getting enrolled in classes is thought to be
lucky, let alone a class of first choice.
The threat to freeze enrollment
comes as a response to $750 million
cuts in funding. A proposed tax initiative will be placed on the November
ballot, and, if that does not pass, an
addition $200 million will be cut.
If the tax proposal does fail, then
most of the 23 Cal State Universities
will not be accepting any new students
while a few will only be accepting a few
hundred transfer students from community colleges for the 2013 Spring
semester. The eight campuses that will
accept students are Channel Islands,
Chico, East Bay, Fullerton, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Bernardino, and
Sonoma. These campuses are the ones
with the largest pool of applicants.
This potential acceptance freeze
will affect hundreds of thousands of
students graduating high school. Enrollment for the fall semester of 2013
is dependent on the new tax proposal
and even if there is any admittance, it
will be extremely limited and will make
applying to Cal State Universities exponentially more stressful since it will
be more selective than ever.
Now if students don’t get in, they
lose more than their safety school. For

students who can’t afford to go out of
state or private institutions, this enrollment freeze could be costing them
their college degree, and they will be
left in one of the worst economies with
only a high school diploma.
The estimated 20,000 to 25,000
eligible students who will be turned
away in the fall semester of 2013 will
be left to either take student loans if
necessary to go out of state or to a pri-

California schools
were already ranked
47 in the nation,
so cutting school
budgets didn’t sit well.
vate institution. If they decide not to
enroll in college, and it seems many
students will be left with no other
choice, they will be left to apply for
the following year, competing against
not only the other 25,000 eligible students who were not accepted, but a
whole new pool of eligible applicants.
The Cal State system has already
been increasing tuition over the past
six years. This fall, the annual cost
for a Cal State undergraduate education will rise to “$5,970, not including
housing, campus-based fees, books
and other costs that can top more
than $25,000” according to the Los
Angeles Times. While this may not
seem like a lot to a BC student paying
upwards of 50k a year, a small increase
in tuition could mean dropping out of
college for students who can’t afford
tuition hikes. If Cal State Universities
are the only economically feasible
schools, then tuition increases and
enrollment freezes will most definitely have a lasting impact on the student population.
9

Rise in
Violence
Recent American
Anti-Muslim Actions:
Isolated or Trending?

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In the past few weeks, American
anti-Muslim sentiments have escalated both domestically and internationally. Headlined by the NYPD’s
surveillance of Muslims in New York
and New Jersey, Koran burnings in
Afghanistan, and Staff Sergeant Robert Bales’ alleged murder of seventeen Afghan civilians, anti-Muslim
efforts have begun to capture the
attention of people across the world.
While varying opinions on the different matters at hand exist, there is
one universal theme to be explored:
are these efforts against Muslims isolated incidents lacking public support, or do Americans support the
actions law enforcement has taken
against the Muslim community at
large?
Since the attacks against the
United States on September 11,
2001, the NYPD was secretly monitoring the daily lives of Muslims in
New York and New Jersey. Some of
the surveillance even included Muslims working with the FBI to combat
terrorism in the tri-state area. While
the constitutionality of the actions
against the Muslim community is
currently being debated, the United
States is trying to find a way to mend
the newly-fractured relationship between the government and citizens
who feel their rights have been violated.
Widespread criticism of the
NYPD has come from all arenas, ranging from citizen action groups to
government agencies and officials.
The Justice Department is reviewing the case and fielding complaints
about the system implemented by
the NYPD. The FBI has been particularly vocal, claiming that the fallout
from the NYPD’s actions has made
it more difficult for them to gather

By Emyr Remy / Gavel Media Staff
the GAVEL / April 2012

counter terrorism intelligence.
Muslim surveillance has proven
to be popular despite questions of
its legality, however. In a poll commissioned by Quinnipiac University,
58 percent of people said police
act appropriately in how they deal
with Muslims, 63 percent of people
approve of the way the NYPD performed their job, and 82 percent of
people say the NYPD has been effective in combating terrorism. Despite
questions of constitutionality and
discrimination, evidence suggests
that many support the surveillance
of Muslims by the NYPD to counteract terrorism.
Protests and riots have erupted
in Afghanistan in response to U.S.
soldiers’ alleged accidental burning
of the Koran, the central religious
text of Islam. 48 copies of the religious text were burned after the boxes they were contained in were mistakenly identified as garbage to be
sent to an incinerator. The texts were
removed because they were used
to communicate extremist ideas between prisoners at the detention
center at Bagram Airfield, where the
burnings took place.
Protests and riots have been
widespread in the aftermath of the
events at Bagram Airfield, and protesters have voiced their displeasure
with America, President Obama,
and Hamid Karzai, the President of
Afghanistan. Protesters have shouted things like “Death to America”,
“Death to Obama”, and “Death to
Karzai”. During the protests, over
twenty people were killed, including
four American soldiers, two of which
were killed by a member of the Afghan National Security Forces.
President Obama has personally apologized for the disrespectful
treatment of the Koran, and his sentiments were shared by John R. Allen,
commander of United States forces

www.bcgavel.com

in Afghanistan. These apologies have
been subject to criticism domestically, as some believe that because the
burnings were a mistake, no apology
was necessary. Others considered
the apologies necessary in order to
maintain friendly relations with Afghan government and civilians.
Staff Sergeant Robert Bales’ alleged murder of seventeen Afghan
civilians, including thirteen women
and children, is perhaps the most
violent example of action targeted
against the Muslim community.
While the details are still being investigated and verified, most believe
Bales acted alone despite various
accounts stating that there up to
twenty different soldiers involved.
The actions of Sergeant Bales have
dramatically increased tensions
between the United States and Afghanis in America, especially after
the NYPD’s surveillance efforts and
Koran burnings by American Armed
Forces.
The United States and Afghanistan debated where Robert Bales
would be tried, with the United
States ultimately securing Bales

and trying him in America according to the appropriate military laws.
Bales has been charged with various
crimes, the most serious being seventeen counts of murder. The death
penalty is reported to be an option,
but is an unlikely outcome since it
requires a presidential signature for
authorization. Bales is currently being held at a correctional facility in
Kansas while he awaits trial.
Muslim affairs have been
strained mainly due to the three successive events of NYPD surveillance,
Koran burnings, and Robert Bales’ alleged killings of 17 civilians. Despite
very isolated support for some of
the events in question, widespread
public outcry against these actions
provides overwhelming evidence
that anti-Muslim efforts are more of
a blip than a trend in American society. Nevertheless, relations between
Americans and Muslims have been
stressed further than they have been
since the September 11 attacks. If the
evidence is correct, hostility should
subside; but until then, American officials must be sure to treat Muslims
with respect.
11

FE ATURES

April 2012

CJR Business Solutions
Website created by CJR
Business Solutions

BC Students create a business that bridges the gap between web and
application developers and business managers
By Itzel Ayala

Gavel Media Staff
While most college students are trying to find internships to bulk up their
resumes for the post-graduation job
search, the BC students at CJR Business
Solutions have gone one step further
and created their own company.

12

CJR Business Solutions began two
and a half years ago when CSOM student
Christopher Rusyniak started the company. As President of CJR he says, â&#x20AC;&#x153;CJR
Business Solutions specializes in cuttingedge custom software that maximizes

the efficiency of your information flow
and expands its potential. By doing this
we add value to a product or service.â&#x20AC;?
Essentially, CJR works with other
new companies in launching their websites and managing technical details.

the GAVEL / April 2012

They are in charge of creating a clean
and professional web design for those
companies that may not have any experience with web design and are just starting out
A&S student Patrick Allen, Vice President of CJR, says, “Our mission is to content developers with entrepreneurs who
have good ideas. There are many budding entrepreneurs who have great ideas
but lack the programing knowledge to
implement them. Similarly, there are a
lot of talented developers who do not
have the operational business knowledge. So instead of co-founders with an
innovative idea trying to find a development team, we come in and handle all
the programming so that’s one less thing
they have to worry about. We save businesses time an money and enable managers to focus on marketing, operations
and other key business issues.”
Allen explains the company’s expansion stating, “We changed our focus
to marketing to start-up companies. We
take a new idea and find the development talent to build a full website, or the
first version of their project.”
It’s incredibly expensive and time
consuming to start a company, especially
if it fails to be successful. Allen explains
how CJR works to keep costs low saying,
“We build a minimum viable product. So
instead of investing your life savings in
this huge product that you don’t know
will work, you want to invest a portion
of that and test the idea. You’re testing if
people actually want to use it.”
This allows companies to have a trial
run experiment of their product at a low
cost. They can see if their business idea
even has a market before they invest a
lot of money in a project that might not
work. Why invest in a business venture
when there is no demand for the product?
After two and a half years of work,
CJR is no out-of-the-dorm company.
They’ve expanded their own company
and now have seven people on their
team, including a summer intern.

www.bcgavel.com

But CJR doesn’t just work with small
companies. Allen says of their growth,
“We take this experience from working
with start-up companies and can apply
it to bigger companies. Everyone wants
to be a start up company because of that
incredible growth they get that first year.
We can go to bigger companies and sort
of test their ideas.”

“We specialize in
putting your business
on the internet. We
create great looking
sites, show you how
to leverage social
media, and build
custom applications
so you can scale your
business,”
-Patrick Allen

button on their page and that is not the
right way to go about that. We try to integrate social strategy. It’s about working
with companies.”
Social networking isn’t for everyone.
CJR has an eclectic group of clients and
has worked with everyone from bars
in Boston to various organizations and
even political candidates. CJR goes case
by case deciding how to use social networking for each client. For example,
they wouldn’t put a Facebook button on
a law firm website because chances are
no one wants to “like” a law firm website.
But, people might follow them on Twitter if they are looking for job updates
from the said law firm. With this in mind,
CJR looks at each client individually to
decide how to make it social.
Ultimately, CJR’s unique niche in
today’s competitive market has allowed
it to expand. Success in the current
economy demands that new firms be
tapped into the technological world and
CJR eases the transition into that world.
When the business sector didn’t offer
these students an opportunity, they created their own.

But why would a firm want to hire a
college student? It’s easy. Current young
adults grew up using the technology
that employees of an older generation
now need to use. “Having computers for
most of our lives puts our generation at
an advantage. We can use all the technological tools available to us, while more
experienced business workers are not as
technologically savvy as they need to be
in order to make their company grow.”
CJR ‘s website also puts a large emphasis on social networking as a company tool. Allen clarifies, “A lot of companies want to be social and what that
means to them is putting a Facebook

Recently, much media attention has been drawn to the issue
of birth control. Advertisers pulled
out of Rush Limbaugh’s show after
he insulted a young graduate student who uses a birth control pill by
calling her a “slut.” House Bill 2625

14

was rejected by the Arizona Senate
on March 28 but was promptly revived, which would allow insurance
companies to decline birth control
coverage on the basis of religious
beliefs. With the issue of women’s
contraception dominating the politi-

cal landscape, now is a good time to
clear up many misconceptions about
it: namely, its uses beyond that as a
contraceptive.
In what might be a shocking
statistic, roughly one-third of all
birth control prescriptions issued to

the GAVEL / April 2012

young women are for non-contraceptive benefits. That is, one-third of
birth control users are using it for a
variety of purposes that have nothing to do with pregnancy prevention. These prescriptions are often
used as a way to control other hormone-related issues.
Many young women take the pill
to regulate their periods, which can
be irregular or painful due to factors ranging from stress to excessive
exercise, which many college athletes find to be a problem. Another
group of women with this difficulty
are those who have undergone chemotherapy for cancer treatments.
The pill eases pain due to damage
in their ovaries caused by radiation.
Birth control replaces the hormone
estrogen, which is reduced or absent
in their bodies.
The pill is also a solution to the
medical condition known as endo-

metriosis, an issue in the lining of
the uterus, which causes debilitating
pain during a young woman’s menstrual cycle. Certain prescriptions
can prevent or lighten periods and
alleviate this discomfort.
Additionally, when other prescription medicines fail to improve
skin problems, birth control can regulate hormonal irregularities, which
are the underlying cause of acne.
Teenagers can take it to clear up
their skin and regulate hormonal imbalances. Another benefit is that the
pill generally means lighter periods,
and thus women have less danger of
iron-deficiency anemia.
Birth control, which replaces
estrogen, also helps bones, which
is quite
advantageous when so
many women have problems with
bone density. In fact, many postmenopausal women use the pill as
a hormone replacement or to pre-

vent osteoporosis and heart disease.
Birth control is proven to lower the
chances of endometrial cancer (cancer in the uterus) and ovarian cancer.
Aside from a woman’s choice to
use birth control as a contraceptive,
there are many medical benefits that
may prompt a woman to take the
pill. Using birth control does not automatically mean you are very sexually active and need pregnancy protection—a woman might take it for
any of the reasons mentioned above.
No one has the right to assume anything about a woman’s personal life,
especially when a large portion of
birth control users is not even taking it for contraceptive purposes.
Women are using it to lead healthier
and more comfortable lives. If Rush
Limbaugh considers the pursuit of
a pain-free life to be promiscuous,
then he could call just about anybody a slut.

Muploading Pics of Gasson
From left to right, Photo by Miguel Londono (middle top) Collace Greene III et al.
By Cal Greene III, Features Editor
Students at Boston College are
more privileged than students at other schools. This comes as no surprise
to most BC students. It is evidenced
by the multitude of high-end foreign
cars that fill the parking garage every
parents’ weekend, the fact that most
students’ wardrobes are straight out
of a Ralph Lauren, Vineyard Vines, or J.
Crew catolog, and the amount of time
each student puts into making sure
they look like they just came from a
lovely afternoon at their private country club. Yes this school is pretentious
but let’s face it: we love it.
Camera phones have done more
for society than get people fired after
wild office parties. They have created
a new way to brag to their friends on
Facebook. Back in the day students
had to just tell their high school
friends about the beauty of BC or have
them come for a visit. But now the
mupload has streamlined that process
and allowed students to boast and

16

gather “likes” from other BC students.
BC is a giant bubble. Students do
not have to deal with or even come
in contact with most real world problems, like: serious crimes, running
into bad neighborhoods, hunger, actual problems. If eighty percent of students did not participate in some sort
of community service most would just
assume that the rest of Boston and
the United States is worry free.
One of the best things about BC
is the unique Gothic Revival style architecture that dominates the campus. Bapst Library has been named
the most beautiful college library in
America and Devlin Hall was named
the “most beautiful building in Boston” in 1926. Long story short BC students go to a beautiful school, in one
of the wealthiest towns in New England, in one of the most iconic major
U.S. cities and they love to show it off.
Captions posted on facebook
such as, “Gasson looking completely

BA [Bad ass] all lit up. Bet you can
see this baby all the way downtown”
and “Actually a perfect fall day on The
Heights” capture the spirit of pride
that students want to convey to their
Facebook peers and fellow students.
The trend of students muploading pictures of Gasson is not constrained to eloquently displaying PDA
for BC. Muploads of Gasson when it’s
snowing are another popular way to
tell the world that the weather sucks
but Gasson still looks amazing.
Muploads of Gasson will be popular until it stops gleaming in the
purpling-orange sunset. Next time
it is a sunny day walking back from
class, take some time and instagram
a pic of Gasson Hall. It is hard not to
sometimes. Students at BC love the
finer things in life and more importantly letting the world know about
it. Which is why muploads of Gasson
will always be something BC students
like.

the GAVEL / April 2012

Gasson lit up like a boss

Overheard @BC
Overheard conversation between
inebriated girl and House of
Blues security:
Girl (to everyone): Oh my God this
is the worst night of my life! I want
my money back!
Guy in line: What happened?
Girl: You have to be 21 to get in!
Security: Uh no. That’s false.
Girl: F@#! all of you! Barstool sucks.

12 inches of snow
last night, and I still
have class

Overheard at the House of Blues:
Guy 1: Dude this is a total
sausagefest. The ratio is like 10 to 1.
Guy 2: I know man, I’d actually be
scared to be a chick right now.
Overheard in the Quad:
Guy: Dude my stepdad dropped
acid once...he says he still sees
the Virgin Mary walking down the
street sometimes.
Overheard in Fulton Hall:
Girl 1: Oh I’m in CSOM because I want
to run my dad’s business.
Girl 2: Oh what’s he do?
Girl 1: He’s an umm...he does like tax-y
things and math.
Girl 2: An accountant?
Girl 1: OMG yes! I’m gonna be an
accountant!

Overheard in the Mods:
Guy: Partying with the 99% sucks.
Overheard conversation between
two underage girls:
Girl 1: I asked my mom to buy us
alcohol.
Girl 2: What’d she say?
Girl 1: No. I was like, “Mom, we can’t
find any for tonight.” Then she proceeded to tell me about the time
she got arrested when she was
pregnant with me.
Overheard conversation in Mac…
Girl in line: My Lululemons are giving me
are giving me a muffin top. Plex time!
www.bcgavel.com

17

The Best Beers of Spring

Magic Hat Vinyl Seasonal:
Magic Hat has always had a great reputation
for making quality beers and is a cult favorite
of many students at BC who are tired of Natty. This is a very pungent beer and the smell
of the hops explodes from the bottle the second the cap is broken. It has a dark color for
a spring beer and a heavy bitter hops flavor
to it that came as a surprise. It was a stronger
tasting beer than anticipated, but it was still
good. This is a beer you have to be in the
mood for and it is very filling, so I would not
suggest buying a 12-pack to funnel.

This time around we decided to sample spring seasonal beers. The five that made the cut this time were: Shock Top Raspberry
Wheat, Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA, Magic Hat Vinyl Seasonal, Sam Adams Alpine Spring, and Chimay Triple. As always the
beers were all highly rated and are from breweries that have very good products. Participating this time was Cal Greene III, Features Editor, Maggie Lawrence, Culture Editor, Robert Rossi, Managing Editor and Christian Feidler, Finance Director.

We based our comparison for the beers based on four criteria: clarity
and colour, smell, taste and complexity, and mouth-feel, then we gave it
an overall score, 1 being poor and 5 being the best.
Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA:
This beer is one of the more famous varieties of
the Dogfish Head family and arguably the beer
that put the company on the micro-brewing map.
The bottle version shipped up here is not far off
from the draft and it was smooth, with a slight
sour taste. For those not used to IPAs it can seem
extremely bitter, but we all agreed that this beer
had everything. At 8.9 percent ACV it was strong. It
was smooth. It burst with flavor. Hands down the
best beer, though at $11.99 per four-pack, I would
suggest leaving it for a special occasion.

18

the GAVEL / April 2012

All Photos by Cal Greene III/Gavel Media

Shock Top Raspberry Wheat:
Once you crack the cap on this one the pungent raspberry
aroma fills the air. This beer has a medium amber color with
a slight reddish tint to it, indicative of the flavoring. It is fairly
cloudy like the original Shock Top and has a similar head when
poured. Once it hits your tongue you experience a light tingling
sensation. It is a little on the sweeter side, which of course Maggie loved, but it may be a little too â&#x20AC;&#x153;girlyâ&#x20AC;? for the average bro. It
is a great chilling beer for to drink while watching some solid
college basketball or for whenever you want to show others
that you have more class than Chet Hammerton.

Sam Adams Alpine Spring:
We obviously had high expectations for Sam Adams. With the
exception of the Cherry Wheat, we are all big fans and enjoy
the variety of brews they have been offering recently. We were
especially enthralled by the release of the new seasonal brew
Alpine Spring this year. It was everything we expected from
a spring beer. It had light fruity and flowery flavors combined
with semi-bitter hoppy tastes. It is a clear medium amber color,
which is indicative of a lager, but the flavor this beer packs is
unlike any other spring seasonal. It is a great beer for any occasion and well worth the 10 bucks per six-pack.

Chimay Belgian Tripel:
This one is definitely one of the more sophisticated beers we
have tried in the beer review. The good folks at the Publick
House in Washington Square suggested this one. It was great!
It has a smooth taste and was not bitter, but at the same time
packed a lot of flavor. No single flavor was overpowering, but
each complemented each other. It had a light hoppy flavor with
subtle undertones of fruitiness. A great beer, though since it
is rather expensive, and is only available in 750ml bottles, it is
best left for a classier occasion.

Take note: all persons who participated in the review are of legal
drinking age. Please remember to drink responsibly.

www.bcgavel.com

19

Health Blog:
Running Routes for Spring
The long run: 9.1mi

The BC 5K: 3.2 mi

20

This one is reserved for
the more experienced
runners. The hills on
Lake Street and Beacon
Street are challenging.
Your surroundings will
change rapidly.You will
see everything from the
newly aquired Brighton
Campus to the Charles
River, BU and Colliage
Corner. Overall, a fun
run to do though it is
tough, and dynamic
enough to keep you
from getting bored.

If you only have
about a half-hour
for a quick workout this one is
the best bet. It is
If you only have about a half-hour
a
thefor
official
BC 5K
quick workout this one is the best
bet.but
It modiroute,
is the official BC 5K route, but modified
to and
fied to start
start and end at the Plex. In this end
short
at5K
the Plex. In
you get dramatic hills, a flat straightaway
this short 5K you
along the Reservoir, and good changes
inhills, a
get steep
scenery.
flat straightaway
along the Reservoir, and good
hanges in scenery.

the GAVEL
All Photos by Cal Greene III/Gavel
Media / April 2012

If the 5K is too short and
you want a more suburban
feel, then running into
Newton Center is perfect.
It is relatively quick and the
houses along the way are
beautiful! Keep in mind,
that this route is
significantly hillier than
you would expect.

Here is an easy way to
incentivize running. A
quick run to Starbucks will
burn calories and let you
enjoy your calorie-filled
coffee beverage guilt-free!
You can drink it on your
walk back along the
Reservoir on a sunny day.
Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a win-win!

A great opportunity for
freshmen out on Newton
looking to get in shape! If
you have to come to Main
Campus anyway, why not
use it as an opportunity to
squeeze in a quick jog
instead of waiting for the
bus.
www.bcgavel.com

Newton Center run: 3.9 mi

The guilt-free mocha frappuccino: 1.25 mi

The Newton kid 2.3 mi

21

April 2012

Moving Spring Concert to earlier time

will NOT stop binge drinking

Binge drinking is a problem that
plagues many college campuses
throughout the country. Due to the
draconian and puritanical drinking
laws of this country, college kids who
are not yet twenty-one drink underground, and are more likely to consume unsafe amounts of liquor in a
short amount of time.
Granted, BC does deserve some
well-earned praise in their efforts
to combat binge drinking. The “Stay
in Your Green Zone” campaign is a
good first step because it does not
discourage the consumption of alcohol. Rather, it encourages students to
have fun in a safe manner and drink
responsibly.
22

The “Stay in Your
Green Zone”
campaign is a
good first step.
The decision, however, to move
the Spring Concert to an earlier start
time will be ineffective in combating binge drinking. In fact, with the
drinking culture that BC has to begin with, pre-gaming will occur even
earlier to accommodate the 4:30 PM

time when the doors open to Conte
Forum. After the concert, there will
be more time in the night to continue to drink.
The day of the concert has the
potential to turn into an all-day
drinking affair akin to a St. Patrick’s
Day, or Marathon Monday.
The start time for the concert
cannot be changed now. But in the
future BC should schedule the concerts for a later start time, while at
the same time promoting the “Stay
in Your Green Zone” campaign. There
is no way to prevent college students
from drinking, but BC can foster an
atmosphere of responsibility and
safety.

the GAVEL / April 2012

Debate on guns
needs to be brought back
into the national spotlight

As a result of all the media coverage surrounding the death of Trayvon
Martin, many are viewing the tragedy
from the perspective of racism. However, one angle that has not been explored is the issue of gun control.
We are not presuming innocence
or guilt in the case. That is for a court
of law to decide. However, George
Zimmerman was carrying a 9mm
semi-automatic handgun that fateful night, despite the fact that he has
numerous charges on his criminal
record, from resisting arrest with violence and battery on a police officer,
to domestic violence. How was Zimmerman even allowed to be in possession of a gun in the first place with
his violent past?
Gun control is a controversial issue that no one is willing to touch.
Especially in an election year, bringing up gun control, or gun rights, is
unwise.
This may be due to the fact that
the National Rifle Association is one
of the most powerful interest groups
in the country. In addition, there are
many people that are single-issue
voters, meaning that they cast their
vote solely based on a particular candidateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s actual or perceived stance on
guns.
Regardless, this stifles meaningwww.bcgavel.com

ful debate about a crucial issue. Politicians are afraid to speak their mind
on guns, fearing that it will alienate
voters. Similarly, the media has been
increasingly silent, only reporting on
it when there is a Supreme Court decision over local handgun bans.
The last gun control issue that
truly reached the national consciousness was Congressâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s decision in 2004
to allow a 10-year ban on assault
weapons to expire. Ever since then,
the nation has seemingly put the
debte on guns in the rear view mirror.
However, the gun debate should
be in the spotlight. Several tragedies,
such as the Amish school shooting
in 2006, the Virginia Tech massacre
in 2007, the attempted assassination
of former Representative Gabby Giffords last year, and now, the death
of Trayvon Martin, have done little to
spur meaningful reform to make sure
such incidents never happen again.
Whether one is pro-gun control,
or pro-gun rights, both sides see the
need for further background checks
on prospective gun owners, and further enforcement of existing laws.
We should never be afraid, however, to express our viewpoints, or
prevent others from expressing their
own. The national discussion on guns
is still relevant and necessary.
23

INSIDE: MPAA ratings system need to be reformed / Finals: Get over it / The constitutionality of
Obamacare / Bill Maher: Superpac controversy / Rush Limbaugh and social conservatism ignorance

Opinions

April 2012

Keep Facebook passwords
away from employers

By Frank Rizzo
Assoc. Opinions Editor

House Republicans voted to block
a measure that would have prevented
employers from asking applicants and
current staffers to submit their Facebook
passwords. Representative Ed Perlmutter
introduced the proposal as part of a bill to
reform the Federal Communications Commission. The measure comes in light of reports of prospective employers requiring
applicants to submit their usernames and
passwords so that the employers can access their Facebook accounts to see what
the applicants have posted online.
On March 23, Facebook posted a blog
on the issue saying, “If you are a Facebook
user, you should never have to share your
password, let anyone access your account,
or do anything that might jeopardize the
security of your account or violate the privacy of your friends. We have worked really hard at Facebook to give you the tools
to control who sees your information.”
Despite this, the job market has seen
significant attempts by employers to require Facebook login information as a part
of the application process.
In Virginia, candidates for state trooper positions are required to sign on to their
Facebook accounts or any other social media they use during the interview process.

24

Corinne Geller, spokeswoman for the Virginia State Police, said, “You sign a waiver,
then there’s a laptop and you go to these
sites and your interviewer reviews your information. It’s a virtual character check as
much as the rest of the process is a physical
background check.”
The fundamental problem here
seems to be a lack of recognition of how
the culture of privacy has changed, what
that change means for society, and how
society chooses to define it. The extent
to which people share information about
themselves with other people is drastically
different from 20 years ago. We live in a
world where everyday almost 700 million
people log on to Facebook to share and
exchange social information. Speaking as a
20-year old college student of the millennial generation, I know of few people my
age that does not have a Facebook page.
It is the new norm of socialization, a forum
where friends can crack jokes at each other, plan events, share music, post random
thoughts, and share their status updates.
Facebook has worked hard to ensure that
its users are able to maintain a concrete
sense of privacy, one that enables them to
pick and choose what is visible to whom.
According to research from Nielsen’s

“The Social Media Report,” American Internet users now devote more time to
Facebook than any other website, spending a total of 53.5 billion minutes per
month on the world’s largest social networking site. Facebook is like a second
home for its users. It is where they virtually hang out with friends and family. In
a certain sense, requiring employees to
submit login information so that an employer can peruse 5-6 years of social interaction is akin to having an employer sit
on a night together with your friends. The
argument here would be that Facebook
is not a mandatory site, so the decision
to post information cannot be claimed as
“personal.”
The Republicans decision to block this
measure is dangerous for the sanctity
of civil liberty. If we accept the fact that
the mediums through which society socializes and exchanges information are
constantly changing, then we must be
willing to ensure a base level of privacy
across those mediums. Any attempt to
require employees to submit Facebook
login information fails to recognize this
reality.

the GAVEL / April 2012

Reflections
on the

massacre in
Afghanistan
By Sam Post
Gavel Media Contributor
So what to say about Sgt. Robert
Bales --what can I possibly say; or what
matter will my say be?
Do we blame him -- or is it his
circumstance?
He is the murderer of sixteen
indefensible people -- nine were
children.
He was indeed a soldier -- and a
soldier weathered; the military writes
that he was drinking prior to his
killings.
There is much blame to be awarded.
It seems in our nation, and in our
coverage of the murders, our focus has
been in the motion of understanding
the -- why -- of the thing. At four tours
of duty -- yes -- I can much imagine
that the psyche becomes perverted. I
would find it hard to think that roundthe-clock defense and killing and
soldiering would not weigh on the
soul - make it something else than it is.
This fallout business about soldiers
and alcohol is silly. I completely
support soldiersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; drinking just because
of that. Their lives are terrible. They
sacrifice their bodies and souls and
sanities for the causes that our onhighs deem particular. Soldiers should
get a break. We (the students) drink on
www.bcgavel.com

the weekends just because. Soldiers
that are so used to living in a constant
combat environment-- to the extent
that those things are norm -- yes,
they should get some relief. The first
thing Noah does after the flood is
plant a vineyard and get drunk till he
blacks-out; soldiers are in the same
conditions, and then have to too
concern themselves with surviving.
The last point that I will make with my
remaining words is this: our soldiers
should get a break. I do not doubt that
most are changed much after combat
and service, but at least they get to
come back to homes and families -and to some measure of support. The
same cannot be said of the people
living through war-zones. That same
norm of gun and bullet for soldier is
the one lived by those peoples (for our
purposes, Afghanis).
It was written in the New York Times
of how this set of wars was multigenerational: how soldiers may have
entered combat at 20 years old, and
are now approaching 30 and raising
new soldiers on their reminiscent
combats. Equal, those folks living in
war zones have been the succumbers
of time. Babies born (and died);

I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t doubt that
most are changed
much after combat
and service.
grandparents and parents buried.
People were wed; families were raised
and grown. Those routines of living
all accommodated combat. And now,
more are heaped under the ground in
their final resting place. Think now of
that town that has to accommodate
the burial of 16 people; and especially
of those children -- the promise of
their unknowns, of what families and
children would have been theirs, and
theirs to hold.
I honestly do not know whether or
not I have any relevant input. All I can
really say is that it is sad that a whole
village has lost its children, and it is
sad that a family has lost a father and
a husband.

25

By Paul Baboc
Gavel Media Staff

The lunacy of
Santorumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

WAR ON
26

PORN

the GAVEL / April 2012

“Pornography is toxic. It contributes to misogyny and violence
against women. It is a contributing
factor to prostitution and sex trafficking. The Obama administration
has turned a blind eye to those who
wish to preserve our culture from
the scourge of pornography and has
refused to enforce obscenity laws.”
With this, Santorum vowed to
wage a so-called “war on pornography” if he is elected president.
Perhaps
Santorum’s words
might come across as enlightened
to his target audience, which is
composed chiefly of a preponderance of rather religious-minded,
traditional individuals. I doubt
Evangelical Protestants would descry his effort, and a good number
of Catholics would advocate for its
application as ardently as liberals
would argue against it.
There are noble elements to
the idea; few would argue that pornography is uplifting, righteous or
innately liberating, and arguing
these things would take prodigious
powers of intellect. Naturally, this
is because America was and largely
remains an essentially Christian nation founded on Biblical principles.
Since pornography, according
to the logic of the Santorum-minded, is the acme of anti-individualism in that it subverts the natural
worth of those choosing to engage
in sexual practices which are readily visible and downloadable to
millions of people. It is, by nature,
anti-American.
But there are flaws in Santorum’s plan to wage war on porn.
First of all, he calls pornography ‘a
pandemic,’ which is ludicrous and
perhaps slightly comical given the
ramifications of the word. I can
hardly imagine in exactly what ways
pornography is a pandemic. If pornography were really a pandemic,
then each individual user would
pass on his or her disease to every-

www.bcgavel.com

one around him or her. As an individual and self-willed act, there is
no fear of it ‘spreading’ like a pandemic. To be frank, I doubt that the
statistics for the amount of individuals that have seen pornographic
material at some point in their lives
are any higher today than they were
50 years ago, during the monopolized reign of “Playboy”.
This brings me to the next

The man
who watches
pornography doesn’t
become a misogynist
by watching it
any more than a
woman that watches
pornography
becomes against the
male gender.
point he makes, which is that pornography is toxic to marriages and
relationships. Perhaps Santorum
is not of the most brilliant variety,
since anyone with any real grasp
of things would be able to tell you
that truly devoted spouses will not
watch porn if thir spouse does not
want them to. What is Santorum trying to say? That religious, devoted
husbands will be so manipulated by
the porn industry that they’d risk
their marriages and positive family
dynamics for the sake of some videos of Sasha Grey on pornhub? Objection: If they are, that is their own
fault, not the porn industry’s.
Pornography is only toxic to
marriages and relationships in

which a party consents to indulge
in it without the knowledge of the
other, in which case there must already be something rotten in the
relationship. Each individual user
chooses to watch porn on their own
accord. In a world where pornography didn’t exist at all, individuals
would most likely resort to other
sexual activities, such as cheating
on their partners.
In any case, the point is that human nature is human nature, and
Santorum is wrong to say that pornography is the cause for whatever
distressing circumstances we have
put ourselves into. It is because
of human nature that pornography
has arisen, and its market is so prodigious precisely because we will it
to be.
Santorum’s other points are ludicrous as well. Is pornography really a contributing factor to prostitution and sex trafficking? Rape
statistics have been going down
over time in the United States.
There were almost 103,000 rapes
in the US in 1990. In 2010, there
were less than 85,000. Incidentally,
the Internet only became a massphenomenon in the mid-1990s, and
that’s also when the viewership of
online pornography would have
skyrocketed. Santorum fails on this
count.
As for misogyny, well, the man
who watches pornography doesn’t
become a misogynist by watching it
any more than a woman that watches pornography becomes against
the male gender.
Lastly, Santorum’s attack on
Obama’s implied refusal to diminish
the impact of porn on our culture
is plain malicious slander. As if that
was the most important thing on
Obama’s agenda to begin with. Not
only is pornography threatening
the preservation of our culture, according to Santorum, but the Democratic Party has actively “turned a

27

blind eye” with the obvious implication that our civilization will soon
collapse upon itself. It is plainly
ludicrous and displays nothing, at
least in my personal opinion, but
ignorance and political frustration.
Will Santorum’s plan become a
reality? No, unless more Medievalminded figureheads spring up from
the loins of excessive conservatism
to resurrect righteousness. Is pornography likely to die anytime soon
on account of these plans? No, unless
human nature were to take a drastic
turn and become angelic. It is plain
that Santorum is speaking foolishly

when he declaims all these things.
He is, in effect, turning a blind eye
to the reality of things, which is that
the pornographic industry in America is simply too deeply ingrained in
our culture to be done away with.
Though regrettable by our comfortable standards, the truth is that it
provides thousands of individuals
with a way out of awful family lives
and offers a better alternative to
the sexually uninhibited than rape
and adultery. But the problem is
deeper. If Santorum thinks that we
should get rid of porn because it’s
so horrible and evil, then what else

Bill Maher:

will he want us to get rid of? Will
he want movies that currently get
pg-13 ratings to move up to pg-18?
Or maybe he’ll want to cut all sex
scenes from all movies produced
in the United States. And eventually he might even reinstitute Old
Testament laws and have adulterers
as well as sexually promiscuous individuals stoned. Who really knows
what’s going on inside his head.

By Natalie Roy
Gavel Media Staff

Photo courtesey of latimes.com

Is his big donation to Obama’s
Superpac a big mistake?

28

This past month, stand-up comedian
and host of HBO’s Realtime, Bill Maher,
made headlines across the web for his
$1 million donation to President Obama’s
SuperPAC, Priorities USA Action. Maher,
a known liberal and a controversial figure in the world of politics, took to the
Huffington Post to defend his contribution, writing, “…I was trying to make the
point that if I could do it, a lot of other
people could do it a lot more easily than
me.” He has publicly stated multiple times
publicly that his donation was an act of
protest against the Supreme Court’s 2010
Citizens United ruling, a decision that in
a nutshell allows corporations to donate
unlimited amounts of funds to political
campaigns. However, if he really wanted
to draw attention to the issue, there are
much less hypocritical ways to do so.
It is no secret that Maher is not a
fan of large campaign donations. He
has used the term “Sugar Daddy” to describe Sheldon Adelson, a billionaire
who has already contributed several
million dollars to Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich. While it

is unlikely that Maher will make any additional contributions to the Priorities
USA SuperPAC, it looks to me like a case
of the pot calling the kettle black. At the
very least, if he is going to make donations, he should not be poking fun at
anyone who is doing the same thing.
At the end of the day, the larger
issue remains that Maher has been
extremely vocal about his opposition to Citizens United in the past. Yet
he’s taking advantage of it just like
his accused Republican opponents.
In the same Huffington Post article,
Maher wrote, “There’s a reason that of the
16 billionaires that have contributed to
super PACs this year, 14 have given to Republicans. It is generally the party of the
rich.” So now in addition to protesting, he
is admittedly trying to level the playing
field? Surely going into an election without as large of a treasure chest as your opponent is challenging. But I think that facing that difficulty head-on would make
any candidate stand out. The less money
you have, the more you will do to stretch
every dollar and make every bit count.

There is something to be said for a candidate that has sufficiently fewer funds than
his or her opponent and makes it work.
I am unsure of whether or not Maher’s donation helps or hurts the President’s reelection campaign. Certainly,
Obama opposes the Citizens United ruling, but it would be hard to call out any
Republican in a debate for accepting
SuperPAC money when he’s doing the
same thing. Not only will Maher’s donation provide more fuel for conservatives
to spit fire at Obama, but it could also
disenfranchise Democrats and Independents who oppose Citizens United. In either case, the President could lose votes.
Frankly, I do not think you can protest
SuperPACs by donating to a SuperPAC.
And you certainly cannot say that you only
did it to counteract the same evils being
committed by the other side. Two wrongs
do not make a right, and in this case,
might not even further your cause. I agree
with Bill Maher on a lot of things, and I will
still watch Realtime every Friday night,
but I am not a big fan of this decision.

the GAVEL / April 2012

Justice Kennedy
may have a point
on Obamacare
By Mike Natalie
Gavel Media Staff
As the Obama administration’s
health care law hangs in the balance, the
Supreme Court is currently re-evaluating
its role in American society: justices conservative and liberal are less than eager
to increase the political character of the
court, and this figures heavily into their recent arguments. Everybody seems to feel
that the decision should be made based
on constitutionality and not party lines;
however, in practice, the lawyers arguing for the benefit of the Court are using
constitutional arguments to support their
previously held opinions on the bill.
Historically, several debates over constitutionality have been resolved based
on the Court’s interpretation of the Commerce Clause—which gives Congress
the right to legislate over commerce,
and use of the Elastic or “necessary and
proper” clause, specifically designed to
give Congress “wiggle room” when dealing with the multitude of situations that
could not have reasonably been foreseen
by the Founding Fathers. Different courts
“stretch” the elastic clause to different
degrees. The Roberts Court seems committed, at least in this instance, to a more
conservative interpretation of these powers. Yet, in this case, interpretation of these
two aspects of Congressional power may
not be sufficient to settle the case: the extent of the Supreme Court’s own power is

www.bcgavel.com

currently being questioned alongside the
age-old problem of Congressional limitations.
The problem exists in two different
dimensions: whether or not the currently
problematic “core” of Obamacare—its requirement that all Americans have health
insurance—is constitutional, and whether
or not the Supreme Court can edit Congress; that’s to say, simply remove the unconstitutional portions of the bill. Much of
the discussion, especially recent discussion, has been predicated on the assumption that the central requirement of the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care
Act are unconstitutional. I do not claim
to be an expert, but their progression to
such a debate suggests to me the Court’s
quiet consensus that, yes; the Court finds
certain aspects of the bill unconstitutional.
According to the New York Times,
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had claimed
the “more conservative approach,” i.e. the
approach more clearly within the bounds
of judicial authority, is to “salvage” what
is constitutional in the bill rather than
destroy everything. Her colleagues Justice Anthony M. Kennedy and Justice
Scalia feel “salvage” is impractical and an
overreach of boundaries in its own right.
Kennedy argues that changing one aspect of the bill changes its fundamental
meaning, that the intent of Congress, the
Federal government’s premier legislators,
upon signing the bill is of paramount importance and that to change the bill is to
presume too much about Congressional
intent. Justice Scalia feels the Supreme
Court, a nine person judicial body, is just
not cut out to review the entire bill.

Personally, I have fairly strong liberal
leanings. I will spare you my feelings on
Obamacare overall, as you can probably
guess them. I will confess, however, that
in spite of my own personal desires, Justice Kennedy’s line of reasoning makes
more sense to me than Justice Ruth Bader
Ginsberg’s. I do not feel it is for the Supreme Court to pick and choose.
As important as health care is, our
definition of the Supreme Court’s power
may well matter more in the long run.
You may be thinking that I have got the
cart before the horse; that I am presuming much about the future when we have
a serious issue at hand here in the present. That I am overly preoccupied with
an abstract notion of “balance” between
the branches of government, meanwhile
Americans across the nation suffer from
our flawed system of healthcare. These
things have occurred to me, but consider:
Congress can readily raise this issue again.
They could put the bill back together
minus the parts ruled unconstitutional
themselves, and pass the law again. I realize that given frequent shifts in the composition of Congress, this is not very likely;
however, the fact remains, they can try
again. The Supreme Court, however, cannot “try again” as readily. They review existing cases as an appellate court, meaning they have only limited opportunity
to reassess their decisions, even those related to the extent of their own authority.
In this way, this discussion of judicial authority which has so preoccupied the Supreme Court over the past few days may
well be more important than the issue of
healthcare.

29

MPAA

ratings system

requires

major

reform
By Kenny St. John, Opinions Editor
A new documentary is out in a movie theater near you. It is called “Bully,” and
it follows how bullying affects the lives
of five teenagers across the country.
Early reviews praise “Bully” as a powerful film and an educational tool that
delivers an anti-bullying message that
young people can benefit from. Numerous anti-bullying advocacy groups
such as PACER’s National Bullying Pre30

vention Center, the National Center for
Learning Disabilities and Autism Speaks
have also shown support of the film.
However, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) gave “Bully”
an “R” rating before its release, which
means that no one under 17 can see
the documentary without an adult. The
MPAA’s justification of the rating is that
the profanity colloquially known as the

F-word is uttered six times throughout the documentary, which is above
the threshold of the two uses of the Fword that is required for an “R” rating.
Ironically, “Bully” is specifically geared
towards the under-17 demographic
and the “R” rating severely hurts the
dissemination of the anti-bullying message to the crowd that would benefit
from it the most. An online petition call-

the GAVEL / April 2012

ing for the MPAA to rate the film PG-13
has collected over 300,000 signatures.
Unfortunately, the MPAA did not
reverse its decision. As a result, the
Weinstein Company, the documentary’s distributor, has decided to release the movie in its unrated version.

the celebrated film critic, has blasted
the fact that the system sees sex in
a movie as more inappropriate, and
therefore more worthy of an “R” rating,
than the depiction of gruesome violence. Ebert is also critical of the MPAA
for looking at trivial parts of a movie.

piction of homosexuality more harshly
than heterosexuality, and two members of the clergy are on the board.
I am not saying that the MPAA
needs to be abolished. It is essentially
a trade guild in which members have
a constitutional right to assemble and

“Bully” is specifically geared towards the under-17
demographic and the “R” rating severely hurts the
dissemination of the anti-bullying message to the
crowd that would benefit from it the most.

However, this allows theater chains the
freedom to set their own rules. Cinemark has decided not to show “Bully”
while Regal Cinemas and AMC are
treating the film as an “R” rated flick.
This is just one example of the
enormous pull that the MPAA, a private entity, has on the movie industry. If a movie theater chain decides
not to follow the MPAA ratings system, the MPAA, which is comprised
of the six big Hollywood studios, do
not release films to that particular
chain. This essentially coerces movie
theater chains to comply if they want
to do business. However, at least in
theory, the MPAA ratings are a voluntary system, and do not have any
federal, state or local jurisdiction.
This is not the only instance where
the MPAA has come under fire for its
ratings system. It has been criticized
for having inconsistent standards in
handing out its ratings. Roger Ebert,
www.bcgavel.com

In the case of “Bully,” the use of the Fword in conversation suggests an “R”
rating more than the overall theme
and subject matter of the movie itself.
Other critics argue that the big Hollywood studios, which are members of
the MPAA, are given more lenient treatment in the ratings system compared
to independents. In addition, the
MPAA will not reveal any information
as to why ratings decisions were made.
In 2006, an independent documentary, “This Film is Not Yet Rated”which
investigated the MPAA ratings system,
was released. Ironically, the film was
given an “NC-17” rating by the MPAA
for depicting a scene that showed
how a film, in fact, can garner an “NC17” rating. The documentary brought
to light several startling discoveries
about the inner workings of the MPAA,
including the fact that ratings board
members have no children or children
over 18. In addition, they treat the de-

organize for a collective interest. However, the MPAA needs to reform its ratings system. By having a stranglehold
on the movie industry, the MPAA coerces movie theater owners to comply
and enforce the ratings system if they
want to continue to be in business.
This practice is effectively tantamount to censorship and takes freedom of choice away from parents and
children alike. For instance, when I was
15, my friend and I were turned away
from seeing “Hitman,” an “R” rated
film, even after my friend’s mom came
into the theater and expressly gave
her permission for us to see the film.
The MPAA needs to stop acting like a parent. The ratings should
be mere guidelines that are unenforced by any public or private entity. Parents should make the ultimate
decision over whether or not their
child should see a certain film.
31

In March radio talk show host Rush
Limbaugh referred to Sandra Fluke, a thirdyear law student at Georgetown University, as a “slut” for testifying before Congress
about the burdensome cost of contraception. In the two days following this comment, Limbaugh proceeded to call American taxpayers “pimps” for paying for her
contraception coverage, and urged Fluke
to upload videos of all her sexual interactions. Naturally, these comments did
not go unaddressed—over the last three
weeks, there has been a significant public outcry about and condemnation of
Limbaugh’s offensive and sexist remarks.
This incident occurred in the aftermath of weeks of political debate over
contraception and insurance coverage.
President Obama initially announced that
all employers—even religiously affiliated
non-profits like churches and schools—
would be required to provide insurance
plans that offered contraception coverage with no co-pays under the Affordable
Care Act. The Republican Party, of course,
nearly had a stroke at the thought of
women receiving the healthcare they deserve—and on top of that being able to
have safe sex—and thus decided to frame
the issue as one of religious freedom. Unfortunately, this framing resonated with
many Americans and the Obama administration decided to make an exception
for those religiously affiliated institutions.
Now, if an employer has a moral objection to giving women healthcare access
equal to men, they can opt out of providing contraception, making the insurance

32

company they contract with responsible
for reaching out to women and offering them the coverage they need. One
might think this exception would have
settled the religious issue, but the problem is that women will still be receiving their healthcare and still get to have
sex—so Republicans are still up in arms.
The profundity and relevance of Limbaugh’s comments lie in their explicit expression of the conservative ideology truly driving Republican attempts to restrict
contraception access; contraception represents the key to unlocking female sexual agency. For years, Republicans have
been attacking a woman’s right to make
decisions about her own body and they
have now capitalized on the politicization
of birth control to approach the issue from
another angle. Latent in their ideology is
the desire to ensure that women continue
to conform to traditional norms of femininity under the guise of patriarchy—the
ability to reject motherhood, but embrace sexuality threatens that directive.
The use of the term “slut” conveys
this point so unambiguously that it made
most Republicans reluctant to stand with
Limbaugh. “Slut” continues to be used
as a means of sexually disempowering
women by scandalizing female sexual expression—Limbaugh would have never
referred to a male law student lamenting over the cost of Viagra or condoms a
“slut” because male sexual potency is celebrated as an essential site of male domination vis-à-vis female subordination.
The most ironic part of this whole

debate over contraception is that access
to contraception and sex education are
the only two factors important in predicating rates of abortion. The legality of
abortion has almost no correlation to the
number of abortions performed in any
given year in any given country. Studies
have show that countries where abortion
is extremely restricted or completely illegal like Brazil, Chile, the Dominican Republic, and Peru actually have more than

Latent in their
ideology is the desire
to ensure that women
continue to conform
to traditional norms
of femininity.
twice as many abortions per year than the
United States where abortion is legal and
safe. Additionally, European countries
like Finland, Germany and the Netherlands have been shown to have half as
many abortions as the United States—
the difference in abortion rates lies in
the accessibility of contraception. So if
Republicans are so determined to reduce
the amount of abortions then why do
they continue to oppose the use of contraception? Well, Rush Limbaugh said it
best—it’s because women are “sluts.”

the GAVEL / March 2012

By Jenna LaConte
Gavel Media Editor
Without question, colleges
have mastered ending each semester on the most awkward note possible with the invention of finals.
One day you are having the time
of your life screaming at the top
of your lungs as sweaty strangers
struggle up Heartbreak Hill – or, if
you’re brave, maybe you are among
those panting marathon runners –
and, the next thing you know, the
hangover is replaced by an ominous panic over finals. In one fell
swoop, the student body enters a
campus-wide marathon in which
instead of drunkenly cheering one
another on we compete for library
chairs and empty classrooms like
complete savages.
You know that cute girl you met
off campus last week? She has given
up on both showering and sleeping
for the week, and by no means is
she interested in talking to you. As
for that pre-med guy you met in a
mod and decided to marry to enjoy
his future success, you may as well
kiss that dream goodbye. He is fully
committed to his Orgo textbook.
Amidst all of this finals-induced
stress, a pattern has emerged
among BC students that needs to
come to an end. As we spend hours
on end typing up final papers or
review guides, the constant screen
time leads to a natural increase in
time spent on Facebook. Somehow, instead of using Facebook as
the instrument of procrastination,
people have turned Facebook statuses into their personal diaries
where they can bitch and moan
about how stressed they are. Suddenly, our news feeds are drowning in complaints and woe-is-me’s
over the experience that we are all
going through at once. If you really think that your situation is any
worse than the 9,000 other students in your position, it is time for
www.bcgavel.com

a reality check.
That’s right, Miss “15 straight
hours in O’Neill and counting… get
me out of hereeee.” And you, Mister
“If guy loudly chomping his pen in
Bapst doesn’t stop in the next three
minutes I’m going to shove it down
his throat.” Stop it. Stop it right
now. I sign onto Facebook to avoid
doing work only to find that you’re
forcing your own stress upon all
846 of your Facebook friends? Talk
about selfish.
Let’s be real for a minute. Mark
Zuckerberg would not have wanted
it this way. He went to Harvard; he
knows how stressful finals are. He
was sued in his pursuit of creating
a means of escape, and it is a slap
in the face to use his gift for evil.
Shape up, Boston College.
When I log onto Facebook during finals, I don’t want to know how
many pages you have left to write, I
don’t want to know how many cups
of coffee you’ve had today, and I
sure as hell do not want to know

how many pages your study guide
is especially if we have a class together and mine is shorter.
I came here to find links to funny
YouTube videos. I came here to stalk
your old profile pictures from 2007.
I came here to stop thinking about
finals. Please do not take that from
me.
Whatever this week of hell has
in store for you, it is fair to say that
it will not be pretty. So, let us take
a moment and think: how are you
going to handle your stress? YouTube meditation videos are deeply
underrated, and ritual burnings
never hurt anyone (disclaimer: yes
they have). You can go for a run,
catch up on old episodes of your
favorite TV shows, braid your hair,
roll down a hill, etc. The possibilities are endless. There are plenty of
ways to release stress during finals,
so I beg you, please, whatever you
do, do not use Facebook as your
stress ball. Just buy a stress ball. It
will work wonders.
33

viewing pins either by category or sorted in order of recent popularity.
Users resist comparing Pinterest to
Tumblr, which functions more as a personal blog rather than a categorized
collection of “pins.” That being said, Pinterest is a creative site for more serious
users (rather than the Bored Browser
type of websites like Stumbleupon) who
are interested in exploring particular
categories of things such as appetizer
recipes for dinner parties or Bohemian
interior designs.
Users can build different boards for
their own purposes, resulting in visually
appealing pages filled with themed images taken from outside websites or other users’ boards. The majority of pinned
images contain a link to their original
websites as well as a list of other users
who have “repinned” the same image. In
effect, Pinterest is a creative bookmarking platform that allows its users to build

their own ideas with the help of others.
So the next time your Principles of
Economics class drags, there is no need
to suffer any longer: look no further than
the online pinboard that our fellow BC
students love so much.
One BC senior discusses the reason
she frequents Pinterest: “I like Pinterest
because it’s very visual. I like that it’s broken up into categories such as fashion
and recipes. There are a bunch of ‘niche
boards’ like DIY instructions, etc. I mostly
use it for inspiration. It’s so simple to find
engaging. The picture tells the stories,”
said Zuha Quazi, A&S ‘12. Quazi enjoys
the freedom to “pin” items that she likes
from other users’ boards to her own. It
is also useful for her to draw interior design inspiration for decorating her future
apartment. A blogger herself, Quazi operates a fashion blog as a senior at BC--check her out at:
http://couturecult.blogspot.com/

the GAVEL / April 2012

Photos courtesy of Pinterest

Have you ever been 30 minutes
into your professor’s lecture, tired, bored
and compulsively drawn to the laptop
screens in front of you when you notice
that the screens are not, in fact, lecture
notes, but rather an array of graphic images of dresses, cakes, bedrooms and
clever aphorisms? Pins, if you will, from
a cyber pinboard? One word: Pinterest.
Pinterest defines itself as a “virtual
pinboard,” an online site where someone
can post images that express something
that he or she wants to share with others, or a source from which one can draw
inspiration.
On top of being a cyber zone of
creativity, Pinterest acts as a form of
social media by allowing users to log
in through Facebook and “follow” their
friends’ pinboards. Upon logging in,
Pinterest users are instantly brought to
a page covered in their friends’ recent
pins, but they also have the option of

Blog of the Month: Boooooom!
By Maggie Lawrence / culture editor

Art History for the Laptop Generation

“An art blog with a soft spot
for hand-made work by
unknown people.”
Photo by Jesse John Hunniford

As the blogosphere expands exponentially, it’s helpful to distinguish
between the brain-rotting streams of
consciousness that clog the Internet
and sites that might actually be useful
and engaging. Whether you are new to
the blog world or have your own Wordpress account already, Gavel Media has
tracked down a site that might actually
distract you from Facebook for a few
minutes this spring.
Jeff Hamada, an artist hailing from
Vancouver, has created Booooooom, an
art blog and online community that is
constantly sharing creativity around the
globe. Hamada posts new work from
artists daily, and Booooooom has been
growing rapidly, boasting over 3 millions pageviews per month. Hamada
attributes the blog’s success to “good
old fashioned word-of-mouth” and en-

www.bcgavel.com

Photos courtesy of Booooooom.com

courages readers to contact him with
suggestions and ideas on his corner of
the blog world.
Like Pinterest, Booooooom can be
a constant stream of inspiriation for just
about anyone, but one of the most interesting aspects of the blog is the Project forum. Hamada sends out instructions for a reader collaboration that
anyone is open to interpret artistically
and submit their own take.
A recent project called the
Booooooom + Adobe Remake project
called for photographers to submit a
photo interpretation of a famous work
of art. Grant Wood’s “American Gothic”
can be modernized with a skateboardtoting subject and modern apparel,
but the compelling sense of Americana
Wood originally achieved is not lost in
Jesse John Hunniford’s photo version.

The project was inspired by a photo
contest by Adobe originally open to
students in the U.K. The beauty of
Booooooom is that Jeff is able to open
the project to readers around the world
through his blog.
Hamada’s active Facebook page
characterizes Booooooom as “an art
blog with a soft spot for hand-made
work by unknown people.” This creative
outlet that unites people from around
the world is also an important avenue
for new artists to gain exposure and collaborate and combine their ideas.
Booooooom is a piece of the blog
world that promotes creativity and collective inspiration through design and
art. A reinterpretation of the classics
might be just what you need to change
your perspective.

35

Take back the night
By Jillian Timko / assoc. culture editor

Photo by Sofia Martinez, Photo Editor
Take Back the Night constitutes an important part of BC’s
C.A.R.E. (Concerned About Rape
Education) Week, but it is also an
internationally renowned event
that takes the form of a rally
and march to take direct action
against rape and sexual violence.
The movement is called Take
Back the Night to protest the violence women are prone to experience while walking at night. Also
known as Reclaim the Night, the
first Take Back the Night was held
in Belgium in March 1976 by the
women taking part in the International Tribunal on Crimes Against
Women. The movement spread
during the remainder of the year
to other parts of Europe, where
groups of women marched with
candles in order to protest instances of violence against women.
The Women Against Violence
in Pornography and Media organized the first Take Back The Night
march in the United States on November 4th, 1978 in San Francis36

co. The women marched through
the red-light district of the city to
protest the sexual subordination
of women promoted by rape and
pornography.
The event is often deliberately
women-only to demonstrate how
women can unite against violence
and fear. This policy has caused
controversy, as some activists
believe that Take Back The Night
Events should not be segregated
so that male allies and sexual assault survivors can show their
support.
The goal of these marches is
to speak out against this violence
and heighten community awareness to prevent future violence.
Since its inception, the movement
has broadened to include all types
of violence against all persons,
while still focusing on violence
against women. This allows the
movement to incorporate concerns about domestic and sexual
abuse.
Today, the movement
takes the form of widely publicized events in major cities and on

college campuses.
Take Back the Night is a crucial
part of BC’s C.A.R.E. Week, held
by the Women’s Resource Center.
C.A.R.E. week aims to educate students about sexual and partner
violence both on and off campus.
Specifically, C.A.R.E. programs
focus on educating the BC community about sexual assault and
rape on college campuses, what
consent is, ways to recognize and
navigate unhealthy relationships,
and how to help a friend who has
experienced sexual assault.

the GAVEL / April 2012

Vegetarianism at BC

By Emily Akin / gavel media staff

Photo by Olivia Simone, Print Manager

When I left for college, I made the
decision to become a vegetarian . It
was mostly for health reasons, but it
also seemed like a very “college” thing
to do: go to college, save the world
one cow’s life at a time. It was really
just typical idealist 18-year-old nonsense, and I was up for the challenge
of showing my meat-loving family that
I could survive off tofu and veggies for
four years.
When I first got to BC, I essentially
lived off of the Magic Carpet falafel
sandwich at Mac. I then moved on to
the Mediterranean Hummus Panini
from Stuart, closely followed by the
Apple Walnut Salad from the Rat and
the Addie’s Veggie Burger. Then, I got
bored. You can really only eat one
sandwich so many times before the
thought of eating it again makes you
want to up-chuck your tofu. Unlike
other colleges, BC has very little variety
in their vegetarian meal plan options.
I spoke with other vegetarians
around campus, all of whom were surprised upon their arrival at BC that the
school had so few vegetarian options.
The school also needs to broaden its
vegan options, because many vegetarians want to experiment with veganism but cannot achieve a balanced
diet from the BC options. Sarah Peppe
A&S ’15 said, “I mostly end up eating
yogurt and salads and occasionally
some of the tofu dishes served in Stuart, but those got old after the beginwww.bcgavel.com

ning of the year.”
Peta2, the world’s largest youth
animal rights group, recently held an
open poll to online voters about which
colleges in the nation provide the best
vegetarian and vegan dining options.
The number one school is the University of Indiana at Bloomington. Not
a single college from Massachusetts
made the top 10 list, and the only college from New England to make the list
was Yale University. This is a surprising
realization, especially since college is a
time for experimentation in academic,
social and dietary choices.
According to a 2009-2010 Bon Appetit Management Company survey,
over 12 percent of college students
are self-described vegetarians across
the country. Some schools have even
taken very extreme stances on the
vegetarian position. The Maharishi
School of Management in Fairfield,
Iowa, only serves vegetarian or vegan
meal options, and Bastyr University in
Washington State only includes one
meat option on the daily menu.
While I am by no means suggesting that such extreme measures be
taken here at Boston College, the dining hall really needs to step up their
vegetarian meal options if they want
to keep on top of the student’s demands. The Loft at Addie’s is a great
addition to the school’s dining halls,
and for those of you who rarely venture upstairs in Lower, it provides

delicious organic cuisine from local,
sustainable sources. This student-run
cafeteria provides some of the most
palatable vegetarian food on campus
and attracts even non-vegetarians
with its delicious flatbread pizzas and
salads. However, Addie’s is one of the
only places on campus to get decent
vegetarian food; which is funny because on BC’s dining Vegetarian 101
web-page, the administrative dietician
suggests that vegetarians at BC “Aim
for variety...[and] try to enjoy many different foods rather than get stuck in a
rut of the same two or three dishes.” It
is ironic advice considering that there
are only about two or three staple vegetarian options regularly offered at any
of the dining halls.
Another “yummy” option for vegetarians are the boxed, refrigerated
tofu meals which closely resemble
cardboard in both looks and taste. One
of my meat-eating friends sampled my
lovely “Soy-tien” packaged dinner and
instantly gagged. Some meat-eating
students are sympathetic to the plight
of vegetarians on campus — others
are not.
When asked if they were serving
veggie burgers, one disgruntled Stuart
employee said, “Frickin’ vegetarians.
Conform or die. Just eat a hamburger.”
He was joking (hopefully), but overall
BC dining services definitely needs to
rethink the way it treats vegetarianism
on campus.
37

Pop Culture Preview
Mad Men Season 5
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
Divorcee Betty Draper faces an uncertain future on this
season of AMC’s Mad Men.

Sundays 9 PM EST on AMC

Don Draper’s engagement announcement to
secretary Megan (Jessica
Pare) marks the end of
the Betty and Don saga,
or does it?

Game of Thrones
Sundays 9 PM EST on HBO

Emmy-nominated series Game of Thrones
airs its highly-anticipated second season premiere April 1. Based on the medieval fantasy
book series ‘A Song of Ice and Fire,’ Game of
Thrones chronicles the violent warfare between noble families for the Iron Throne.
38

the GAVEL / April 2012

COMING UP
More details have been released about an album the
Talking Heads legend and
Clark are recording togther.
A former member of the Polyphonic Spree who has had a
great deal of solo success, St.
Vincent is also featured on
Andrew Bird’s recent release,
Break it Yourself.

David Byrne and St. Vincent’s Annie Clark
You are in luck in case you missed
the beachy, lo-fi sound Best Coast
does so well, there’s more to come!
To follow up their highly successful
2012 debut album Crazy For You,
Bethany Consentino and Best Coast
are set to release their sophomore
album The Only Place on May 15.

Best Coast
April marks the start of RHCP’s US tour. The band
released their tenth studio album ‘I’m with You’ this
past August. Prolific veterans on the American rock
scene, RHCP’s tour is a highly anticpated return to the
spotlight after 2006’s ‘Stadium Arcadium.’
www.bcgavel.com

Red Hot Chili
Peppers 2012
Summer Tour
39

By Jenna LaConte / assoc. culture editor

Netflix:

What’s in Your Queue?
Sarah Palin’s Alaska

Although a Netflix addiction can be
detrimental to a college student’s ability to focus on schoolwork, not everything on the site turns your brain into
complete mush. In fact, Netflix features
a wide range of shows that run on TLC –
that’s right, The Learning Channel. Sure,
you probably should close your laptop
and open that textbook, but this newest addition to your queue at least has
some educational value to it — as much
educational value, that is, of TLC’s other
classics such as “Toddlers & Tiaras,” “My
Strange Addiction” and “Jon & Kate Plus
Eight.”
Back in 2010, TLC presented America with the severely underrated program
“Sarah Palin’s Alaska.” Although the series only ran for one season, Netflix has
temporarily immortalized it by adding it
to the list of shows that subscribers can
watch instantly.
“Sarah Palin’s Alaska” offers an inside look at the life of a true Alaskan
maverick. Viewers get the opportunity
to see beyond the flighty candidate that
baffled millions throughout the 2008
presidential election and get to know
the lipstick-wearing pitbull hockey mom
that is Sarah Palin.
The series opens with Sarah and her
husband Todd enjoying their morning
coffee on their back deck, which looks
out onto a gorgeous Alaskan lake. They
complain about their neighbor, who
purposefully moved into the house next
door in order to spy on their family for an
expository piece. She and her husband
adamantly condemn this man for his intrusive ways, calling his actions an invasion of privacy. Preach it, sister. You tell
the TLC cameraman who is filming you
on a day-to-day basis how gravely you

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value your privacy.
Sarah and Todd then take their
daughter, Piper, on what they claim to
be a typical Alaskan daytrip. In spite of
the vast lake in their very own backyard,
their own personal plane arrives to bring
them to a favorable fishing location. Just
seven minutes into the episode, you have
already learned something: apparently,
all Alaskans can afford personal planes,
which Palin describes as “the local taxi for
us here in Alaska,” for their leisurely daytrips. They jet off to another lake, where
they take a small boat out to fish about
five feet away from a pair of enormous,
angry grizzly bears. Luckily, Piper is too
absorbed in her angst over the lack of
biting fish to react when the bears start
to aggressively fight one another.
Another gem of a scene takes
place between Palin and her teenage
daughter, Willow, who saunters into the
kitchen and proceeds to blatantly ignore
her mother as she asks for help around
the house. Willow’s male friend, Andy,
comes over, and things really start to
heat up as Willow (semi-successfully)
sneaks him upstairs to her bedroom in
spite of Sarah’s declaration that the gate
at the bottom of the stairs is not only for
the baby but also to keep boys out of her
daughter’s bedroom. Such vigilant parenting makes one question how Bristol
ever got pregnant under such a watchful
eye. Some mysteries will always remain
unanswered, I guess.
Once again, TLC has successfully
provided America with an educational,
worthwhile show that is truly eye opening with “Sarah Palin’s Alaska.” All that’s
left to do at this point is sit back and wait
for their next hit series, “Rick Santorum’s
La La Land.”

the GAVEL / April 2012

NFL Draft

Preview
What might be in store for Luke Kuechly
By Robert Rossi / Managing Editor

The 2012 NFL Draft will take place
from April 26-28 inside New York City’s
Radio City Music Hall. While the nation
focuses on theoretical franchise quarterbacks Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III, the seemingly locked-in top two
picks, Boston College Superfans will
devote their attention to one name
and one name only: Luke Kuechly.
During his time on the Heights,
Kuechly enjoyed what was arguably
the greatest career of any defensive
player in Eagles history. The accomplishments are too long to list, but
include leading the nation in tackles
twice, becoming BC’s first unanimous
All-American since 1998, and winning
virtually every individual award for
which he was eligible this past season.
Nobody on campus is glad to see
Kuechly go, but the possibility of seeing him follow in the footsteps of Matt
Ryan and B.J Raji and emerging as
an NFL star is a nice consolation. So,
which team’s website should dedicated Superfans expect to visit for their
Kuechly jersey order? Here are the
most likely possibilities:
1. Philadelphia Eagles (15th pick)
Virtually every mock draft you could
find on BC’s pro day had Philadelphia
taking Kuechly midway through the first
round. They need an inside linebacker,
and he is the best available. If your per-

www.bcgavel.com

sonal favorite team has absolutely no
shot of landing Kuechly without trading
for him (like my Patriots), the Eagles are
probably the next best place you’d like
to see him. Why? THEY’RE CALLED THE
EAGLES.
2. Seattle Seahawks (12th pick)
Todd McShay is a man that ESPN
pays to project the NFL Draft virtually
year-round. His success rate is very low,
but apparently very few people are better at it than him. For what it’s worth,
he sees Pete Carroll’s Seahawks snagging Kuechly at the 12-spot. BC grad
Matt Hasselbeck almost won a Super
Bowl with Seattle in February 2006, but
that doesn’t change the fact that the Seahawks have some of the most ugly jerseys in the NFL. Please pass!
3. Kansas City Chiefs (11th pick)
Mel Kiper Jr. is another man that
ESPN pays to do the same exact thing as
Todd McShay. He’s not any better at it,
and he takes it out on McShay by talking

down to him like his annoying kid brother all throughout Draft Day. Anyway, he
seems to think Kuechly will go here, but
because he was absolutely convinced
that Notre Dame’s Jimmy Clausen was
going to be a top-five pick in 2010, I’m
giving McShay’s opinion more weight
(Clausen went 47th. Muahaha).
4. Carolina Panthers (9th pick)
Carolina needs defense, and as anyone who watched a BC football game
last year can tell you, Luke Kuechly is
pretty damn good at defense. Still, as
much fun as it would be to see him on
the same team as Cam Newton (the only
comparably dominant player in postTebow NCAA football), this is definitely
a long shot.
5. New England Patriots (31st pick)
Yeah, right. But in the words of
Kevin Garnett, anything’s possible! Well,
except this.
The 2012 NFL Draft will begin on
April 26 and will air on ESPN.

Photos Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

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Springtime in Boston:
How to enjoy the city as the weather gets warmer

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the GAVEL / April 2012

Museum of Fine Arts

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Student tickets are $20, but the
price includes free guided tours,
and you can enjoy the extensive
collections of the museum and
come back for free within ten
days of your initial visit.

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HarborWalk
The HarborWalk is an public walkway along the Boston
waterfront. You’ll pass by a changing array of parks, public art, seating areas, cafes and exhibition areas. Take an
afternoon to enjoy what the waterfront has to offer.

Institute of Contemporary Art
Enjoy $10 discounted student tickets,
have lunch at the Water Café, and
enjoy the fanatastic exhibitions and
programs offered by the Institute of
Contemporary Art. Best of all, it’s free
for students on Thursdays!

Boston Public Garden and Swan Boat Rides
As the United States’ first public botanical garden, the Boston Public Garden remains one of Boston’s most beautiful
sites. Take a walk on a sunny afternoon, enjoy the flowers
and go on a Swan Boat ride — it only costs $2.75!

Picnic on the Boston Common
The Boston Common is beautiful
in the spring. Grab sandwiches in
the dining hall and a blanket from
your dorm, then go enjoy a picnic
on the common, get some sun, and
people watch — all for free!

Top of the Hub for lunch
Going to the Top of the Hub for dinner is an
expense many college students are not willing to pay for. But the lunch menu is much
more manageable, and the beautiful views
of Boston from the restaurant on a sunny
spring afternoon are worth it.

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Duck Tour
If you go to school in Boston, you have to experience a Boston
Duck Tour before you graduate. Tickets sell out quickly so buy
them in advance!

Harpoon Brewery

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Fenway Park – Red Sox Game
Red Sox Opening Day is April 14, so find cheap tickets on StubHub and go to a weekend game.

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It might not be an outdoor activity, but
what could be more fun on a warm spring
afternoon than heading to a brewery with
friends and enjoying complimentary beer
tastings if you are 21 or older? Free on the
weekdays and charging a small fee on the
weekends, Harpoon Brewery offers tastings
and tours for those interested in beer brewing (or those who just want free beer).

Charles River Canoe and Kayak

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Rent canoes or kayaks for a tranquil and scenic trip
down the Charles River. Rental rates start at $15 per
person.
Photos courtesy of Wikimedia Commons